Corte Madera officials talk accomplishments, future at State of the Town luncheon

Corte Madera officials are proud of the town's accomplishments during the past year, but say there's still work to be done on pension reform and the controversial Highway 101 improvement project. Officials spoke about various construction projects and town improvements at the annual State of the Town luncheon hosted Tuesday by the town and the Corte Madera Chamber of Commerce.

Town Manager David Bracken listed a variety of construction activities the town has had a hand in during the past year, including approving the 180-unit apartment complex at the former WinCup site on Tamal Vista Boulevard.

"We saw the ground-breaking for the apartments," Bracken said.

The town approved the complex after developer MacFarlane Partners offered to donate $250,000 to help alleviate traffic in the area. Since then the old building on the site has been torn down and workers are prepping the site for construction.

Britt Wenzler, development associate at MacFarlane Partners, said a building permit has been secured for one of the six buildings planned for the property.

"We're targeting to have the complex open by the second quarter of 2014," Wenzler said.

The grand opening of the new Central Marin Police Authority station on Doherty Drive, Nordstrom's expansion project at The Village, the opening of Cafe Verde and the opening of Mini of Marin were also cited by Bracken as recent accomplishments.

The town still has work to do on the long-planned $143 million construction project that is in the works to rearrange the Larkspur and Corte Madera stretch of Highway 101. The town is vehemently opposed to the proposed project and has requested a full environmental impact report be prepared with alternative project ideas.

"We sent a letter to the Transportation Authority of Marin and Caltrans that we would not accept the draft project as presented," Bracken said. "We're waiting to hear back from them."

Mayor Diane Furst said the town and community members want to make sure the project addresses traffic jams on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, beyond what's in the proposal.

"We are working on coming up with a better solution to address some of the congestion problems," Furst said.

Community members have said the project is outdated, massive, doesn't have adequate pedestrian and bike paths, doesn't address flooding problems and doesn't comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.

The town is making strides on reducing its pension costs by requiring employees to pay their share of the annual pension contribution and switching from defined benefits for retiree health plans to a retirement health savings account.

George Warman, director of administrative services and director of finance, said the state Legislature's recent passage of pension reform items for new employees will help the town save money as more people are hired.

Of the total amount of money spent on employing public safety personnel, Warnum said 43 percent of it goes to pensions. He said that figure will shrink with more new hires.

"The new system that would go into effect for new hires would cost (the town) 12 percent of (the) salaries," Warman said.

For other town employees, the amount of their total pay that goes toward pensions is 24 percent, he said. The town will pay about 7 percent for new hires.

Another cost-saving measure involving a potential merger with the Southern Marin Fire Protection District and Larkspur's Fire Department is moving forward this year. The Corte Madera Fire Department has been sharing a battalion chief position and other personnel with the Southern Marin district since March 2012.

Bracken said the next step is to find a consultant that can study the benefits and disadvantages of such a merger.

"We should be taking a draft request for proposals to the councils in the very near future," Bracken said.